RealGM Wiretap

Stackhouse: Superstars Were Alienated Under Billy Hunter

Feb 19, 2013 5:22 PM

Jerry Stackhouse took an active role in the NBPA's meeting on Saturday that led to the dismissal of executive director of Billy Hunter. LeBron James was the other player who was most vocal during the meeting.

“It’s really important,” Stackhouse said. “Our superstars got somewhat alienated under Hunter because there was so much focus on the middle class and the lower-level guys.

“It was somewhat of a ‘divide-and-conquer’ [strategy] … it sounds great that you created a [higher] average salary and all of this type of thing, but it was more [about] having more of those guys on your side, even though it’s a superstar driven league.

“We’ve just got to figure that out, figure out how we go back to grow the pot. It’s not so much necessarily about the salaries. You’ve got to look at the bigger picture, and what’s the biggest way we can get more of the pot and grow the pot. Not just so much get more but figure someone that can work with the league to help us grow it from where it is now to another level and it’s possible."

Stackhouse was also critical of Derek Fisher's role.

“These next three or four months are going to be big for us to try to start the rebuilding process,” Stackhouse said. “So much stuff has happened … but I think we’ve taken our union back. [Under Hunter] it was somewhat of a stranglehold, so it’s hard to hold anybody accountable for what happened.

“When you’re in those executive-type positions on the executive committee, the president, there are some responsibilities that you have, but at the same time, guys were limited.”